In a technologically advanced society, personal injuries and financial damage continue to result from structure fires all over the world. While electricity makes our lives easier in many ways, the increase in electronically powered devices in a given building means a greater number of wires laid throughout the structure of the building. Having a great number of wires increases the risk of a faulted or frayed wire. Furthermore, a greater number of wires results in faster spreading of fire started from other sources. Due to the wires' conduction of heat and/or electricity, fires are easily spread along conductors to different rooms and portions of a structure.
Different devices and materials are often used at electrical through-penetrations to prevent the spread of fire. Through-penetrations are the openings between rooms or portions of a given structure through which utility conduits pass. Typically, such conduits are plumbing pipes, stand-alone wires, or conduits containing wires. The fire-resistant materials used provide an effective impedance to the spread of fires. One such device and/or material used to prevent fire from spreading through these junctures is firestop. Firestop components typically involve intumescents, cemetitious mortars, silicone, firestop pillows, mineral fibers and rubber compounds strategically places at through-penetrations and other locations to impede the spread of a fire.
While these firestop systems prove effective in preventing the spread of fire to different rooms or regions of a building, they are typically only used at through-penetrations and thus only stop the burning of conduits at these points. Thus, in a large room or long corridor, where no through-penetrations exist, there may not be any firestop systems along a large length of a given conduit. As such, no effective measure would be place to prevent the spread of a fire throughout that particular room or corridor.